บท 39: Trust(3)

"Ethan, I also wanted to ask you do you know what he's planing?"

"I'm not sure. Ever since grandma died I stopped going on missions and I have started teaching new recruits. I think you saw some of them, they are the ones with wings on their back."

"WAIT?! You taught Amon's angels?!"

"Taught them? I made them."

"WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?"

"At the time it seemed like the right choice. I made them with the intent for them to become a force of good, a force that helps people in need, but in the end, they have become a force of evil, a force of oppression... It's one of my biggest regrets, but I can't turn back time so all I can do is live with it."

We trained for a while more and then we went to eat. Since Korra was staying on Air Temple Island, I decided that it was a good time to eat with Tenzin's family. It surprised Korra that I already knew them so she asked Pema.

"Haha! I knew Ethan since he was a small child. He was so cute when he was little. I still remember the first time I meet him. He was about two years old but he was such a well-behaved child. I talked with his grandma for hours and he didn't bother us and when I left he even gave me one of his drawings. Ahh, I still have it in my room. It's so well made, he was so talented at drawing when he was a child. It's a pity that he doesn't draw that much anymore."

"Those were the good old days..."

"Oh, Ethan I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you relive painful memories."

"It's no problem aunty Pema. Those are no painful memories, those are some of my fondest memories."

We then had dinner. We talked about the upcoming pro-bending tournament and we tried to convince Tenzin that pro-bending is more than just two-team fighting is a new way of bending.

While we chatted and Tarrlok came to pay Korra a visit. This was the first time a saw him and I got to say, wow, that man was oozing smugness. I got annoyed just by looking at him and his air of superiority made me want to put a bullet in the head.

He came to talk about the new task force. Since I already knew the answer Korra was going to give, I sit back and relaxed waiting to see the face he was going to make.

Low and behold Korra gave him the solid no. The face he made, ahh... It was glorious! It was a mix of bewildering and confusion, it only took a brief second for him to change his face to his usual one but it satisfied me beyond reason. After the turndown, he took his leave, and not long after I took my leave as well.

Korra came with me to the port to take a ship, but before I left I told her something.

"Korra it's ok to be scared, fear is a part that makes us human, but you don't need to let fear lead your life."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, in particular, those are just some words of wisdom, I heard from a person smarter than me. All I'm asking you is to think them over."

"Ok, Have a good night Ethan!"

"Good night, Korra!"

In the following week or so I continued to see Tarrlok send gifts to Korra, each more expensive than the other. It was quite funny to see with how much persistence both parties didn't want to give in. In the end, Korra decided to attend a gala in her honor, I could have attended the gala myself if I wanted since Nya was a pretty important figure in Future Industries and me being one of the most brilliant minds of the era or so the science magazine says, but I decided against.

I wanted to spend some quality time with Nya, just the two of us, and going to the gala was something that both of us found annoying. There were only old men and women looking to hog more power there, it wasn't an environment that I would like to spend my night in, so I stayed at home having a fantastic dinner with Nya and spending quality time together with her.

The next morning I had breakfast with Nya. While I was making breakfast, she was reading the newspaper, when she suddenly jumped and asked me.

"Did you know about this?"

I look away from the frying pan and at the newspaper and I see the fact that Korra joined Tarrlok's anti-equalist squad. I'm not surprised by this new development and I look back at the frying pan telling her.

"Tarrlok has been trying to get Korra to join his little crusade for some time now. It's not surprising that he finally succeeded. Give it some time and you'll see that Korra will quit on her own."

"How can you be so relaxed about this? Because the avatar joined the task force it means that we'll have a lot more heat on us, or have you forgotten that we are still part of the Equalists?"

"Calm down. The situation isn't as dire as it might seem. For one as long as we don't go on missions is nigh impossible for them to catch us so the only way for them to do is to attack one of the practice centers. Both of us are using the most secure of them so the chance of them to even find us is extremely small. You don't have to worry too much about being caught. What we need to worry about is the fact that both of us haven't been as active as before."

"I know that but it's kind of hard to go there right now. Ever since you told me about Amon and what might happen if he isn't stopped I simply can't go there anymore. It pains me to think that all this time I thought that I trained people for them to live a better life when in reality I trained them to bring pain to others."

"You aren't entirely wrong in thinking that, but look at it this way. Once Amon is out of the picture things will change for the better. Non-benders are going to be respected and the Republic City council will change. Things are going to be better and all those people that we trained will help in doing that and protect this new paradise we fought for."

"Protect how? I think we have different definitions of protection."